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Europe » Italy » Lazio » Fiumicino
September 24th 2011
Published: September 24th 2011
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Had dinner tonight at La Bel. We were very impressed. We chose a E22 menu and had a cold asparagus soup with a straw (yum), prawn salad to begin with (fresh and tasty), guinea fowl with foie de gras sauce and dessert was a nougat with coffee sauce (John) and a meringue with mango sauce (me). There was also cheese and coffee. It cost E61 plus we gave a E9 tip.

Thursday, June 23, 2011
All week we had been planning to go to Minerve. Today was sunny and warm. The drive to Minerve was only 12 km and we arrived and parked some distance from the town in a designated parking area.

It looked very pretty from our vantage point. Like Lagrasse it has been selected as one of the most beautiful villages of France and I would have to agree. What was amazing was its setting. It sits on a clifftop with a dry river bed below. Apparently this river flows in winter but in summer it goes underground. There are a number of natural bridges carved by the river which you can walk through.

Back in the village I went into a museum to try and find out something about the Cathars but it was all flints and fossils. Later we found a display with dioramas and a written commentary in English in a building near the Martyrs’ Road which is just what I was looking for. In 1210 the Perfect Cathars are said to have walked along this street before they threw themselves onto the collective stake waiting for them in the valley below. All they had to do was say they were Catholic and owed their allegiance to the Pope and they would have been saved! I think I would have more pragmatic in the same situation.

We drove home for lunch as we have so much food to eat up. In the afternoon we walked about 6 km to and from Lac de Jourre, along roads lined with stone walls and through vineyards. We both have an urge to go home and build stone walls in our backyard and fill it with flowers. There are flowers everywhere here – geraniums, impatiens, lavender and others too numerous to mention. Many of the townspeople have moved to the outskirts of the village and built new houses. They have left the old, quaint terraced houses for the foreign tourists to buy and renovate. This is more so in some villages than others. Probably the ones on the canals are more attractive to foreigners. There still seem to be a lot of locals living around us at Le Petit Castel.

For dinner I made a sort of ratatouille with all the vegetables in the fridge, mixed it with the left over pasta sauce and served it on a bed of noodles. It was delicious and I’m pleased most of the food has been used up.

Friday, June 24, 2011
Last day in Olonzac. Out with a bang, not a whimper. We drove to Paraza where Mellow Velos were situated. The bikes were Giant brand with easy to use gears and comfy seats. We were given a map and directions which took us off the main roads, across vineyard trails, through small villages, along canal tracks, past cafes and restaurants for 33 kilometres. I might think about upgrading my bike at home. I'm going to be sore tomorrow as I am a bit out of cycling condition. It is certainly very good exercise. We stopped for lunch at Salelles d'Aude where they brought an entree of charcuterie, main of calamari with rice and dessert of fruit salad with cheese plus a carafe of wine for E13. It was all delicious.

When we returned the bikes we met an Australian couple who had been cycling for ten days. They averaged about 35 km a day but had three days where they didn’t cycle so they could see the sights. They (the wife especially) looked pretty tired and she was ready to go home. They have been away for about two months and that is maybe long enough.

Tonight we were not very hungry so after cleaning up the house and packing we walked to the main street and ordered a pizza. With this we had a salad and dessert and a cappuccino so we ate quite a bit. We enjoyed watching the locals and tourists eating in the main street which is all tables and chairs with a narrow road for vehicles. We were trying to guess what nationality sat at each table.

Saturday,June 25, 2011
All went according to plan. We left in the dark at 10 to 5. Here was a diversion and we said Oh no not again but it wasn’t too much out of the way and we got onto the toll road at Carcassonne.

American Jane did a brilliant job of directing us to the airport. 7 km short of it we filled up with diesel. There was no-one at the Europe car place so we just dropped the keys off in a secure box. The plane was delayed by 40 minutes but the time waiting went fast as I was recording the expenditure for the holiday on Excel.

The flight was a bit bumpy as there is a lot of wind around. Arrival was no problem as no-one wanted to look at our bags. We found a taxi and showed the driver the map of where to go to get to our hotel. It is near the sea and boats so John is happy.

Lunch was very filling so we had an afternoon sleep. Dinner we had late because of hot evening and still full from lunch. We ate scampi and mussels. Very yummy.

Sunday, 26th June, 2011
We are enjoying the luxury of "The Cabin" VIP Lounge in Hong Kong Airport. John must have smiled sweetly and used his best conversational skills to get this freeby. There is unlimited food and drink which is a problem as we have just had breakfast on the plane. As for a Scotch or a drambuie at 8.00 am I hardly think so. The free internet is good though.

The flight was long but I watched three movies so that helped pass the time. Yesterday we flew from Toulouse to Rome after getting up at 4.30 am. We left Olonzac in the dark and were making good time when the dreaded "deviation" sign appeared. After meandering around in the dark through a number of small villages we arrived in Carcassonne and were able to get on the toll road. American Jane took us straight to the airport on the other side of Toulouse. Thank you so much Bev and Lindsay for the loan of her. I never did find her real name. She had a habit of saying "rotary" instead of "roundabout" and there were hundreds of those, but she was very patient.

We were pleasantly surprised with our hotel in Fuimicino. It was well reviewed in Trip Adviser and I thought it might be interesting as it was situated near the water and the fishing port. We were amazed at all the fishing boats bouncing up and down. There were maybe a hundred. We realised why when we walked along the pier. It was really windy and large waves were rolling into the trawler harbour stopping the boats from getting out. Although the area looked a bit run down in parts it had a fantastic array of seafood restaurants. That evening, which was a Saturday, hundreds of people (Romans) were prominading along the pier to catch the cool breeze and eat out once it was dark.

We chose a restaurant recommended on Trip Adviser but it was booked out so we tried another one and had a light but delicious meal of grilled scampi and mussels.
Back at the hotel we could have had dinner for E75 each as it is one of the top ten fish restaurants in Rome, but we just weren't that hungry.

Monday, 27th June, 2011
We arrived in Sydney Monday evening after watching seven movies (can’t remember their names), playing Hangman, Sudoku and Chess. We were about to checkmate the computer when the screen went off for landing.






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